Knitting pattern and the like and electro-optic scanning mechanism therefor

ABSTRACT

Knitting pattern and the like having pattern fields of different characteristics adapted for being scanned line-by-line and pointby-point, and an electro-optic scanning device for use therewith. The pattern is provided with parallel transverse trace tracks spaced at equal intervals, and with scanning pattern lines alternating with the trace tracks and parallel thereto. Each of the trace tracks consists of longer and shorter fields which alternate with each other and which have different optical characteristics, for example, different light permeability or different degrees of light reflection.

[451 Sept. 18, 1973 United States Patent [1 1 Plath WIT 0L u d eo zm .l m n mwummw ioo u STCRMH 8113690 6776667 9999999 HHHHHHH 274259 440 48 1962954 ,9 ,93 5 266 40 6698943 3 333333 m M A m E y r K m b I 8 LE m m r EM 8 N o G m TN 9 u c D m w hm M A P u e N "N 0 RS u C m w & T n r T flfi W AP nfl a P0 ra M ET oo R r 6 T E m m T n 2. IEE e NLH m S KET l A H M M 5 7 7 Tailfingen, Germany Dec. 16, 1971 Primary ExaminerJames W. Lawrence Assistant ExaminerD. C. Nelms Attorney-Arthur O. Klein [22] Filed:

Appl. No.: 208,636

Foreign Application Priority Jan. 19, 1970 Data Germany................... P 21 02 238.8

[52] US. Cl.................250/557,66/154 A, 139/319 scanning device for use therewith. The pattern is pro- G0ln 21/30 250/219 D, 219 Q,

vided with parallel transverse trace tracks spaced at equal intervals, and with scanning pattern lines alter- [58] Field of Search....................

250/219 DD,219 DR,219 FR,219 DE, 235;

9 23 5 178/76; natmg with the trace tracks and parallel thereto. Each 112/84, 1 66/154 A of the trace tracks consists of longer and shorter fields which alternate with each other and which have differ- [56] References Cited ent optical characteristics, for example, different light UNTED STATES PATENTS permeability or different degrees of light reflection.

3,472,287 10/1969 139/319 5 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENTEB SEPI SL973 sum 1 or 2 INVENTOR:

Ernst Dieter PL ATH BY yam ms Att orncy PATENIED SEPI 8M3 SHEET 2 BF 2 mwwron:

y Epngt 005M?! Attorney KNITTING PATTERN AND THE LIKE AND ELECTRO-OPTIC SCANNING MECHANISM THEREFOR This invention relates to a pattern for controlling knitting apparatus and the like and to an electro-optical device for scanning the pattern line-by-line and pointby-point.

This technique is not new, but is already known. For example, it has been employed with recorders to read line-by-line and point-by-point patterns with fields or sectors possessing optically different features, for example, in the scanningof fields that are painted with different colors, by means of an electro-optical scanning device. In the knitting industry, where a knitting pattern can be manufactured only by means of stitches, it is customary to provide the patterns on checkered drafting paper in different colors or with different imprints, and each checker of the pattern of a stitch corresponds with the knitting. Such pattern drafts can be scanned by means of photoelectric devices, stitch-bystitch, that is to say, checker'by-checker. The outgoing electric signals produced by the photoelectric device can be directed to control the operating lever of the knitting machine of the stitch-building knitting tools or usually to the pre-set course with which special pattern courses are established. Pattern signals are accumulated on such courses in such manner as to be adapted to be distributed to the knitting systems of the knitting machines.

In order to achieve a scanning'of the pattern draft fields in the middle of the field in the case of such knitting drafts it has been suggested to control the field scanning of the pattern drafts by means of stroke impulses coming from the equipment that processes the pattern signals. This manner of controlling scanning, however, has the disadvantage that when the dimensions of the pattern change due, for example, to changes in temperature and humidity, the knitting strokes that are delivered in an inflexible manner by the pattern signal processing device, do not correspond anymore with the distorted field division of the pattern draft. As a result of this, the pattern signals may no longer be released when the electro-optical screening device is disposed in the middle of a pattern draft field,

as was intended; for example, in such situation, the pattern signals may be released upon the transition in the adjoining pattern draft field..As a result, mistakes occur in the knitting of the fabric, in that the fabric does not correspond to the pattern.

Attempts to produce pattern drafts of a material that is only a little flexible have not led to any satisfying results. In accordance with this procedure, the pattern draft has to be made out of synthetic sheets which are very expensive, and also which do not receive paint very well. Additionally, any sufficient guarantee that such pattern sheets will not buckle is obtained only by their use in constantly air-conditioned rooms.

The problem, to guarantee a safe screening of pattern drafts, becomes much more serious as more fine details of the knits are added and as increasingly longer pattern drafts are used. When employing larger pattern drafts in accordance with such procedure, pattern drafts with up to 500 scanning points per pattern line are employed; with such pattern drafts any distortion becomes increasingly more noticeable. This problem also increases if one tries to make a pattern draft as small as possible and to locate the scanning points closer and closer together. Experience has shown that the problem also cannot be solvedby e.g. employing a stroke trace similar to the stroke trace, as known in filmstrips, at the edge of a pattezm page according to the pattern lines. The required scanning accuracy becomes so precise that a distortion of the pattern draft between a trace at the rim thereof and scanning points arranged distanced therefrom can lead to mistakes in the knitted fabric.

The invention has among its objects the provision of a novel pattern draft and of a scanning device therefor, the draft and device operating in such manner as to overcome the disadvantages outlined above which were inherent in the prior art.

A pattern draft in accordance with the present invention is characterized as follows: It has parallel stroke traces disposed transversely to its length and spaced at equal intervals. The draft has a plurality of equally spaced transverse lines of the pattern to be scanned, such lines alternating with the stroke traces of the pattern draft. The stroke traces consist of a plurality of sets of longer and shorter fields, such longer and shorter fields alternating and having different optical features, as for example, different light penetratabilities or permeabilities or a different degree of light reflection. The lines of the pattern that are to be scanned, that is, those which lie between the stroke traces, can be connected in an already known manner in a chain consisting of identical four-square or rectangular fields, the division of the fields of this chain being at the same time equal to the division of at least one adjoining stroke trace, consisting of fields of different lengths. But the lines to be scanned do not have to be connected, and the stroke traces can, for example, also be employed afterwards on a preferably multi-colored pattern drawing that does not have to be divided into fields.

By arranging the stroke track right next to a line of the pattern that is to be scanned, there is practically no noticeable displacement of the trace track fields with respect to the intended scanning because of variations in the material used. Thus, according to the invention, no mis-stroking can take place as a matter of practice. The device for scanning the pattern line-by-line has at least one electro-optical scanning point that can be directed on one line of the pattern at a time. The scanning point is inflexibly connected to a second one that is directed toward the adjoining trace track. The scan ning pair can be continuously adjusted toward the direction of the lines in small intervals above the pattern. The scanning point pair can be manufactured in such way that it can be coupled to an electronic equipment that, depending upon the scanning signals of the second scanning point that scans the trace track. The electrooptical scanning points form light fields on the pattern lines or pick up the reflected light from the trace tracks in light-sensitive devices. The equipment can also be coupled to a light flash device to illuminate the pattern, the light flash equipment being actuated by stroke signals of the second electro-optical scanning point.

Details of the present invention will be set forth below in the following description when taken with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG.1 is a view in plan of one portion of a pattern in accordance with the present invention;

FIG.2 is a schematic view in front elevation of an equipment for the scanning of a pattern in accordance with F161;

F103 is a schematic view in side elevation of the equipment illustrated in FIG.2; and

FIG.4 is an enlarged view of a portion of the pattern shown in FIG.1.

The pattern shown in the drawings is formed of normal pattern draft paper and is manufactured in the form of a paper sheet strap that has longitudinally spaced perforations 1 1 along both of its edges. The perforations 11 receive the pegs 16 of the transportation cylinder (FIG.2) of a scanning device. The pattern is divided in the usual manner by transverse lines and by longitudinally extending lines or breaks into rectangular fields 12 each of which corresponds to a knitting stitch of a knitting machine. In contrast to the common pattern drafts, the individual pattern field lines 13 are separated from each other by trace tracks 14. These trace tracks 14 consist of uniform intervals of wide, black fields and narrower white fields 14b. The narrower white fields 14b always lie above the middle portion of the adjoining pattern fields 12.

As usual, the pattern to be knitted is shown on the pattern draft by filling in the pattern fields 12 of the different pattern field lines 13 with different colors which show or represent the corresponding coloring of the knitted fabric to be made, or it may represent a specific stitch combination of such fabric. In FIG.1 the colored fields are designated by reference characters 12a.

In F IGS.2 and 3 there is shown a device by which patterns in accordance with the invention may be scanned. In such device the pattern 10 is placed over a transportation cylinder 15 that is equipped with locked-in pegs 16 which are received in the edge perforations 11 of the pattern 10. Above the cylinder 15 there is a movable slide 17 which is arranged for movement in a direction transverse to the direction of movement of the pattern 10 as indicated by the double arrow 17a. The movable slide 17 can be continuously shifted by a driving mechanism (not shown). Slide 17 has on its bottom side a first electro-optical scanning point or device 18 and a second electro-optical scanning point or device 19, the optical axes of devices 18 and 19 being separated by the distance d in the direction transverse to the length of the pattern 10. As shown in FIGS, the two scanning devices 18 and 19 are displaced through the distance e in the direction transverse to the axis of the cylinder 15. The distance e corresponds to the centerline distance between a pattern field line 13 and an adjoining trace track 14. This is to say that the first scanning device 18 serves to scan the pattern field lines 13, while the second scanning device 19 is scanning an adjoining trace track 14.

The enlarged fragmentary view of the pattern 10 shown in F [GA clearly illustrates how the two electrooptical scanning devices 18 and 19 effect the scanning of the pattern 10. In the illustrative embodiment the scanning devices 18 and 19 are so constructed and arranged so that each scanning device forms a light field of constant brightness on the pattern and absorbs the light reflected from this light field, the intensity of the thus reflected light depending upon the color of the pattern. Each of such scanning devices 18 and 19 transforms the thus-received reflected light into a corresponding electrical signal.

It will be understood that the slide 17 is held from travel in the direction longitudinally of the pattern 10, and that the pattern travels in the direction of its length. However, in the following description it is more convenient to refer to the devices 18 and 19 as travelling longitudinally with respect to the pattern 10. The light field 20 of the first scanning point 18, as shown in F164, passes through a pattern field line 13 with the same speed as the light field 21 of the second scanning device 19 passes a trace track 14. In F 16.4 it is assumed that light field 21 has been moved through the distance d in the direction f of the length of the pattern 10 and that light field 21 has been moved by the distance e in the direction transverse to the length of the pattern 10.

The two scanning devices 18 and 19 are coupled by means (not specifically shown) in the slide 17. Such two devices are so connected that, by the time of the arrival of the light field 21 of the second scanning device 19 in an area 14b of the trace track 14, the light field 20 of the first scanning device 18 will be disposed within the next adjacent pattern field line 13. The transverse length a of the shorter light field 14b of the trace track 14 is chosen in comparison to the transverse length b of the light field of the first scanning device 18 and the length b of the light field 20 of the second scanning device 19 that the pattern signal emitted by the scanning device 18 persists only so long as the light field 20 is disposed above a middle area, having the length c plus a minus b of the pattern field 12. Furthermore, the light fields are limited to a width f which is smaller than the width of the pattern field lines as well as the width of the trace tracks 14. Thus, only one central area of the size f (c a b) is scanned from each pattern field. The remaining rim areas of the pattern field are not taken into consideration, and thus can also show color spots of the adjoining pattern fields without signalling a wrong pattern signal from the scanning device 18.

The scanning by the first scanning device 18 starts if, as shown in FIG.4, the light field 21 of the second scanning device 18 has completely reached the light field 14b of the trace track 14. The scanning operation ends as soon as the scanning field 21 has passed through the distance a d and has again reached a dark field 14a of the trace track 14.

The invention, however, is not limited to the abovedescribed structure and procedure. Any pattern drawing without division into individual pattern fields can also be used as a pattern. Trace track lines can be placed on such drawing, preferably mechanically, at uniform intervals parallel to each other and thus a scanning formation can be obtained. With the aid of this trace track the pattern can be scanned as to stitches in the above-described manner. In this case, naturally some color overlaps can occur at the individual scanning devices. If this scanning procedure is employed in connection with circular knitting machines with fine needle division, the above-mentioned few pattern mistakes at pattern overlaps are not disturbing due to the fact that the stitches are small in comparison with the total knitting pattern. At any rate, any pattern drawings can be evaluated in this manner without spending too much time to transform it on checkered pattern paper for a knitting pattern formation. The scanning mechanism in accordance with the invention can be equipped with several pairs of scanning devices constructed and arranged as above-described so that several pattern lines of a pattern can be scanned simultaneously.

Although the invention is illustrated and described with reference to a plurality of preferred embodiments thereof, it is to be expressly understood that it is in no way limited to the disclosure of such preferred embodiments, but is capable of numerous modifications within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A pattern adapted for the control of a knitting machine by being scanned line-by-line and point-by-point by an electro-optical scanning device wherein the pattern is scanned by scanning means in parallel strokes transverse to the length of the pattern and the pattern is indexed longitudinally relative to the scanning means between successive scanning strokes, said pattern having an elongated sheet body having a plurality of uniformly spaced transverse trace tracks, a plurality of uniformly spaced transverse scanning pattern lines, the scanning lines alternating with the trace tracks, the trace tracks having a plurality of uniformly spaced sets of alternating longer and shorter fields, the longer fields being of uniform length, the shorter fields being of uniform length, the longer and the shorter fields having different optical characteristics.

2. A pattern according to claim 1, wherein thepattern lines are composed of a plurality of serially arranged four-sided pattern fields, the trace tracks contain a number of sets of longer and shorter fields equal to the number of the four-sided pattern fields, and the shorter fields of said sets are generally longitudinally aligned with the center lines of the four-sided fields.

3. A pattern according to claim 1, wherein the longer and shorter fields of the trace tracks are of different colors, the dimensions of all longer fields being identical, and the dimensions of all shorter fields being iden:

6 tical.

4. The combination of an electro-optical scanning device and a pattern scanned by the device for the control of a knitting machine line-by-line and point-bypoint, said pattern having an elongated body with a plurality of uniformly spaced trace tracks alternating with a plurality of uniformly spaced transverse scanning pattern lines, said scanning device including means for supporting said pattern and for indexing the pattern in the direction of its length, a pattern scanning means, and means for reciprocating the scanning means transversely of the pattern between indexing movements of the pattern and while the pattern is at rest, said scanning means having two scanning devices fixedly connected to each other, the trace tracks having a plurality of uniformly spaced sets of alternating longer and shorter fields, the longer fields being of uniform length, the shorter fields being of uniform length, the longer and the shorter fields having different optical characteristics, said two scanning devices being spaced longitudinally of the pattern so that one scans the trace tracks and the other scans the pattern. lines, the two scanning devices being spaced from each other transversely of the pattern by a distance corresponding to the distance between the longitudinal center lines of the shorter'fields of two transversely spaced sets of fields.

5. The combination of claim 4, wherein some of the fields of the pattern lines are light and some are dark, some of the fields of the trace tracks are light and some are dark, the light fields on the pattern lines and the trace tracks are light reflective, and the scanning devices have light-sensitive means to receive the light reflected from the respective fields. 

1. A pattern adapted for the control of a knitting machine by being scanned line-by-line and point-by-point By an electrooptical scanning device wherein the pattern is scanned by scanning means in parallel strokes transverse to the length of the pattern and the pattern is indexed longitudinally relative to the scanning means between successive scanning strokes, said pattern having an elongated sheet body having a plurality of uniformly spaced transverse trace tracks, a plurality of uniformly spaced transverse scanning pattern lines, the scanning lines alternating with the trace tracks, the trace tracks having a plurality of uniformly spaced sets of alternating longer and shorter fields, the longer fields being of uniform length, the shorter fields being of uniform length, the longer and the shorter fields having different optical characteristics.
 2. A pattern according to claim 1, wherein the pattern lines are composed of a plurality of serially arranged four-sided pattern fields, the trace tracks contain a number of sets of longer and shorter fields equal to the number of the four-sided pattern fields, and the shorter fields of said sets are generally longitudinally aligned with the center lines of the four-sided fields.
 3. A pattern according to claim 1, wherein the longer and shorter fields of the trace tracks are of different colors, the dimensions of all longer fields being identical, and the dimensions of all shorter fields being identical.
 4. The combination of an electro-optical scanning device and a pattern scanned by the device for the control of a knitting machine line-by-line and point-by-point, said pattern having an elongated body with a plurality of uniformly spaced trace tracks alternating with a plurality of uniformly spaced transverse scanning pattern lines, said scanning device including means for supporting said pattern and for indexing the pattern in the direction of its length, a pattern scanning means, and means for reciprocating the scanning means transversely of the pattern between indexing movements of the pattern and while the pattern is at rest, said scanning means having two scanning devices fixedly connected to each other, the trace tracks having a plurality of uniformly spaced sets of alternating longer and shorter fields, the longer fields being of uniform length, the shorter fields being of uniform length, the longer and the shorter fields having different optical characteristics, said two scanning devices being spaced longitudinally of the pattern so that one scans the trace tracks and the other scans the pattern lines, the two scanning devices being spaced from each other transversely of the pattern by a distance corresponding to the distance between the longitudinal center lines of the shorter fields of two transversely spaced sets of fields.
 5. The combination of claim 4, wherein some of the fields of the pattern lines are light and some are dark, some of the fields of the trace tracks are light and some are dark, the light fields on the pattern lines and the trace tracks are light reflective, and the scanning devices have light-sensitive means to receive the light reflected from the respective fields. 